Following the preview exhibition in September at Sotheby's London, the monograph The Tapestry by Erik Madigan Heck, represented by LGA MGMT, was released on 7 November by Thames & Hudson.
An exploration of color and form, ‘The Tapestry’ originated during a time of deep reflection and evolution for the artist. Inspired by historic tapestries as well as impressionist and contemporary paintings, Heck reexamined past works by recoloring, cropping, and reimagining his own photographs. Relentlessly creative, Heck used the pause of the global pandemic as a contemplative moment to revisit and transform more than a decade of his work as an artist.
“Old tapestries and figurative oil paintings provide me with a huge source of inspiration and pushed me beyond photography into other artistic media. Most of my favorite artists paint from photographs, and I realized this whole time I’ve tried to do the opposite – make paintings out of photographs. So, for some of these works, I wanted to explore that idea in greater depth, by photographing details of historic paintings, recoloring them, printing the results on canvas, and painting over them. I’m still tethered to photography, but this is an attempt to move beyond just photography.” Erik Madigan Heck.
Heck’s photographic oeuvre has always been deeply inspired and informed by his passion for painting, in large part because of his mother. A painter herself, she introduced him to the great masters of the medium at a young age by visiting local museums weekly and encouraging him to paint when he was home from school. Alluringly elegant and brazenly vivid, Erik’s latest work explores the intersection of landscape, fashion, still life, portraiture, and abstraction.
Erik Madigan Heck is an award-winning photographer and artist. He was one of the youngest photographers to receive the prestigious International Center of Photography’s Infinity Award in 2013, among many other accolades. His collaborations and commissions include projects for Van Cleef & Arpels, Comme des Garçons, Thom Browne, Gucci, Nike, The Metropolitan Opera, Neiman Marcus, and Etro. Heck’s previous books include Old Future, The Garden, The Language of Flowers, January to August, No Photos Please, and The Absorbed Tradition. He is also the founding director of Nomenus, an annual art publication.
Find out more about the artist via lgamanagement.com